What I Learned While Taking A Dyslexia Teaching Course

I am not an educator. I don’t have any connections or affiliations with any education system whatsover. But I have always been drawn to learning more about neurodiversity. So when someone shared that Microsoft had a free Dyslexia training course going on in partnership with Made by Dyslexia, I signed up immediately.

I went in with very limited knowledge of what Dyslexia is; things I had read in fiction, seen in movies, come across in random web-articles. I have never knowingly met a dysleic person in my life, so I don’t know anything firsthand about what they struggle with and what they excel at. I knew they had trouble reading and writing. I knew their creativity knew no bounds and manifested in one way or another. I knew Orlando Bloom ad Kiera Knightley and even Jamie Oliver. But I didn’t know about dyslexic astrophycisists. I was unaware that so many famous “academically sound” people, who had gone through the regular (disappointing) school system, were making it big.

One thing that stood our for me during the course of the training was that our schools and teachers are ill-equipped to cater to children with learning differences. With class strengths exceeding 20, lessons spanning less than 30 minutes and a lengthy syllabus to cover, there is not much that one teacher can do to make sure all their students are caught up. Becuase of this many students get left behind.

Education is not simply learning, it invoves a lot more steps that enable a person to efficiently gain knowledge. There are so many unnoticed, but important components that contribute to our learning journey. Most of us don’t pay attention to these and therefore don’t notice when someone else is struggling with them too.

Adapting teaching methodology and curriculums to include children with learning differences doesn’t harm anyone. In fact, these strategies are helpful for other children too. Not only does it do wonders for the confidence of the dyslexic child, it also allows other kids to be accepting and understanding of differences. It fosters a community spirit and gives all kids amazing opportunities for growth.

A lot of our schools still have not embraced technology as a teaching and learning tool. Not only does it increase engagement, it also helps students overcome any challenges they might be facing in learning a concept. Technology also allows educators to personalise resources for each of their students, which is always a plus in a system where all children are taught the same way.

Kids learn in different ways. And they always learn better when they can experience what they are learning through their senses. Sound, visuals, touch; all of these things bring concepts to life. Children love experimentation and exploring, they enjoy projects and creating things. Employing a multisensory approach will not only make the classroom a fun place to learn, children will thrive.

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